OKYO Pharma has U.S. Patent Issued Covering its Lipid Conjugated Peptide Analogues for treating Ocular Pain and Inflammation

LONDON, Feb. 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OKYO Pharma Limited ("OKYO" or the "Company"), a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel drugs to treat inflammatory eye diseases and chronic ocular pain, today announced that patent No. 10,899,796 entitled "Compounds and Methods for Treating Pain” was issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO”) on January 26, 2021. This patent covers a class of bovine adrenal medulla (BAM) peptides linked to specific lipids that demonstrate potential for treating symptoms of neuropathic pain, ocular pain, ocular inflammation and/or dry eye disease.

The work recited in this patent lays out the potential of this class of lipidated BAM analogues as non-opioid analgesics for ocular pain management without the side effects and potential abuse associated with opioid medications. The Company originally announced in February 2018 that it had obtained exclusive licenses from On Target Therapeutics LLC and Tufts Medical Center, respectively, covering this ophthalmic disease drug program. These licenses included the rights to the intellectual property (IP) estate covering composition-of-matter and methodology claims on these lipid-linked analogues.       

"The publication of this patent on our BAM-lipidated analogues provides key IP protection crucial for bringing forward a candidate from this class into the clinic,” said Dr. Gary S. Jacob, CEO of OKYO. "It is important to recognize that the novel element of these drug candidates is the lipid anchor component of the molecule which we believe is the ‘secret sauce’ in seeing a pharmacologic benefit in the environment of the eye where tearing and other physiologic phenomena normally work against the effectiveness of drugs due to washout. We will be working hard to bring our lead BAM candidate forward for filing an IND as we move through 2021.”      

About OKYO Pharma

OKYO Pharma Limited (LSE: OKYO) is a life sciences and biotechnology company admitted to listing on the standard segment of the Official List of the UK Financial Conduct Authority and to trading on the Main Market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange plc. OKYO is focusing on the discovery and development of novel molecules to treat inflammatory dry eye diseases and chronic pain.

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For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.okyopharma.com.